These days, when we use the term MP3 player, we use it to describe an entire realm of portable devices that handle a wide variety of audio and video codecs. The Archos 105, however, is pretty much an honest-to-goodness MP3 player: It plays only MP3s and WMAs for audio. (It also plays WMV9 video files and displays JPEGs.) There's nothing wrong with this, per se. After all, there's a large contingent of non-iTunes music fans whose music libraries consist primarily of those two file types. And the 105 definitely has one thing going for it: It's super-cheap for a 2GB player.

Unfortunately, the 105 has an overly complicated interface and some functionality issues. And there are better cheap devices, such as the Samsung U3, on the market. The U3 doesn't display video, however, and the 105 can play your WMV files despite its low-res screen. If you're looking for an inexpensive device to carry around a limited amount of music and video—and screen quality isn't a huge issue—this player is a small investment that's worth a gander.

The 105 is approximately 3.3 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches, and its front panel sports a small, 1.8-inch OLED screen. To the right of the Menu and Close buttons on the unique control panel under the display are four multifunction buttons surrounding an Enter button. The top panel has a mini USB jack next to the headphone jack. The player comes with earbuds that you'll likely want to upgrade, a USB cable, and a quick-start guide.

My main gripe with the 105 is one that I have with most Archos players: menu navigation, which doesn't seem to have evolved. It's not that the devices aren't capable of the same basic functions as their more graceful competitors from Apple and Samsung—it's what you have to go through to get things done. The player uses a lot of forward and backward click navigation. There's a Close button that cuts some of the backward steps out of a menu for you, but there's no "Return to main screen" button.

Moreover, menu navigation isn't intuitive. Some buttons don't do what you'd expect or want them to do. For instance, it would be great if hitting the menu button just took you back to the main menu; instead, it offers different selections depending on what screen you're in. In one scenario, it offers only a Back option and an ARCLibrary Update option. Huh? Don't I already have a backward button on the player? (Yes.) It's not that the user interface doesn't work. I never experienced any crashes. But I don't want to think too much or jump through hoops when playing with a cheap toy.

The 105 suffers from some other glitches as well, including eventual screen burn-in. It should be noted that I tested two different Archos 105 players—one showed screen burn-in (where I could see the outline of the menu tabs across the top of the display, even when the unit was turned off) and the other did not. My assumption is that eventually, the unit without burn-in would develop it, but there's no way to test that hypothesis quickly, so let's call it a possibility but not a given.

Another glitch is an audible hum beneath the music when a file plays at levels of 0 to 50 (the volume goes to 99). This is a shame, because when listening at moderate-to-higher volumes, I found the audio quality (with upgraded earphones) fairly good. You can either stick with Archos's presets or customize the EQ, which is easy to do. Loading the 105 in Windows Media player is a piece of cake, but remember: It's MP3- and WMV-only.

Video and photo viewing, on the other hand, is not fantastic. But from a 1.8-inch OLED screen with 160-by-128-pixel resolution on a $90 player, you can't really be too picky. Most players around this price offer no video at all. And if the photos don't look amazing, they're still viewable, and the photo browser switches between files quickly—something not all players can claim. Viewing a clip on the 105 isn't comparable to the excellent video experience you get on higher-end Archos players, but it's an option nonetheless, and it's cheap.

The manuals that are preloaded on the player don't actually open. You get a message saying: "This is not a recognized file type. It will not play." These manuals are PDF files that can be loaded onto your PC and read. Their inclusion on the player, therefore, is a tad odd, but it does save a CD and some trees, at least.

Our rundown test for audio yielded a battery life of 11 hours 32 minutes—pretty low for a flash memory player.

Samsung's U3 is what a cheap player should be: It doesn't try to do too much, therefore it does what it aims for exceptionally well. The Archos 105, on the other hand, certainly tries to do more by including a screen for video and photos. But when you try to squeeze visual features into an $80 device, there are going to be issues. If you can't afford more than $90 for a player and you are dying to watch your (WMV-only) video files, I would cautiously suggest the 105 as an option—there simply isn't really anything in this price range that does what it does. That said, if you can save up for the iPod nano, you'll get a vastly superior audio and video experience. And if you can sacrifice video, Samsung's U3 should do the trick.

Archos offers a one-year limited warranty on the 105. For product support, visit: http://www.archos.com/support/support_tech/index.html?country=global&lang=en

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